Sunday Special.

A Nebraska Win In Orange Would End No. 1 Dispute

MIAMI — A few weeks ago a letter from a Nebraska fan dropped in my mailbox at Tribune Tower. He wanted to express gratitude "for your support for the Big Red."

Save it, pal. Nebraska does not deserve the national title.

Not yet, anyway.

But if the Cornhuskers emerge from the steamy Orange Bowl with a victory New Year's night, they will have stamped themselves as the best team in the country. Only one team has beaten Miami here in the last 63 games.

An Orange Bowl victory would be the lone achievement to set Nebraska apart from Penn State, which is also mighty and deserving. With no disrespect to Oregon, the outright champion of the Pac-10 and Penn State's opposition in the Rose Bowl, the bad news for the Nittany Lions is that their bowl game is a supposed mismatch.

In the picturesque mountains of central Pennsylvania, they demand an explanation. Here's mine.

But first, a couple of responses to some recent chatter. To Penn Staters who gripe they didn't receive proper respect from voters in the Big 10 region: As a Northwestern graduate, I know how it feels to be abused by the Big 10. Conference connections had nothing to do with my vote.

And to people who suggest a sympathy vote for long-suffering Cornhuskers coach Tom Osborne: He claims he doesn't care if he ever wins a national title, so why should I?

I voted for-not supported; there's a big difference-Nebraska on Dec. 4 because the Cornhuskers had done nothing to prove they didn't deserve the No. 1 vote I gave them in August.

They sat on top before the season began because they returned most of the key players from the team that nearly upset heavily favored Florida State in last season's Orange Bowl.

I attended several Nebraska and Penn State games this season. I watched with amazement the afternoon Penn State ripped apart Ohio State in one of the most awesome offensive performances in Big 10 history.

I still voted Nebraska No. 1 before I turned in that night. All the Cornhuskers did was beat second-ranked Colorado by 17 that day.

For some reason, there's a sense that Nebraska has barely been slipping by all season while Penn State has mauled everyone. But as Osborne pointed out: "Nobody's come terribly close to us. You really can't look at any of the 12 games and say, `You were lucky to win that.' "

Penn State had close calls at Michigan and Illinois. The Nittany Lions' victory over the Illini led many supporters to boast that only the best team in the country could overcome a 21-point deficit against such a respected defense.

My question as I watched the riveting comeback from the press box in Champaign was, "Would Nebraska let Illinois take a three-touchdown lead?"

Justice probably demands a split vote-the coaches for the Cornhuskers and the media for Penn State, or vice versa. But "football poll justice" is a contradiction in terms.

So all we can do is look at the evidence, which doesn't favor either beyond a shadow of a doubt. Nebraska has beaten five bowl-bound teams, Penn State four. The Nittany Lions' vaunted offense has outscored its foes by an average of 26 points. But Nebraska has handled its opposition almost as easily, winning by an average of 24.

Nebraska took flak for pounding Pacific. Penn State beat up Temple.

The Cornhuskers certainly didn't storm down the straightaway. When I left Norman, Okla., after watching Nebraska stumble to a 13-3 victory over moribund Oklahoma, I told a friend that Nebraska didn't look No. 1 to me.

But I didn't drop the Cornhuskers because they still had to play Miami in its own backyard. If anyone was going to drop them, let it be the fearsome Hurricanes-on the football field.

If the Cornhuskers win, they'll have the one impressive victory Penn State lacks. If they lose, and Penn State wins, I'll happily cast my ballot for the Nittany Lions and give them something to hoot about over double scoops of Peachy Paterno at the Penn State University Creamery.